The Nebraska State Historical Society in 1954 (Article begins on page 2 below.) This article is copyrighted by History Nebraska (formerly the Nebraska State Historical Society). You may download it for your personal use. For permission to re-use materials, or for photo ordering information, see: https://history.nebraska.gov/publications/re-use-nshs-materials Learn more about Nebraska History (and search articles) here: https://history.nebraska.gov/publications/nebraska-history-magazine History Nebraska members receive four issues of Nebraska History annually: https://history.nebraska.gov/get-involved/membership Full Citation: James C Olson, “The Nebraska State Historical Society in 1954,” Nebraska History 35 (1954): 305-315 Article Summary: Society staff members spent their first full year in their new building planning territorial centennial events, new educational activities, and the establishment of a traveling museum. THE NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY IN 1954 BY JAMES C. OLSON UR new building and the territorial centennial year have combined to make 1954 the busiest-and in many 0 respects, the most productive-year in the history of the Nebraska State Historical Society. In recognition of the .Society's achievements during the year, the American Association for State and Local History, at its annual meeting in Madison, Wisconsin, September 9-11, gave the Society an Award of Merit, its highest accolade. This is the second award received by the Society, an earlier one being granted in 1951. The new building has met with enthusiastic accept­ ance, both in Nebraska and in the nation. As of 31 August, 1954, or during the first eleven months of operation, a total of 100,251 persons visited the building. Professionals from various parts of the country who have visited the building have joined with the laity in high praise. We have had requests from a number of institutions to permit their staff members to visit us and to observe the building and our operational procedures. The beauty of the front of the building has been greatly enhanced by landscaping, made possible through a gift of $2,000 from the Cooper Foundation, and the installation of flood lights. A few minor details still remain to be completed, but when all Dr. James C. Olson is superintendent of the Nebraska State Historical Society. This report was presented in part at the 76th annual meeting of the Society, Lincoln, 25 September 1954. [305] 306 NEBRASKA HISTORY these are finished, the building will have been constructed and equipped well within the funds appropriated. Indeed, we will be able to turn back to the State Treasurer a portion of the sum. Details will be found in the report of the Treasurer. In accordance with a legislative resolution, Governor Robert Crosby appointed a Territorial Centennial Com­ mission to assist Nebraskans in the observance of their territorial centennial. Although the President of the Society was appointed chairman of the Commission by Governor Crosby and the Superintendent was named secretary by the legislative resolution, the Territorial Centennial Com­ mission is entirely independent of the State Historical Society, and its activities are not properly a part of this report. The Society's offices, however, serve as the office of the Territorial Centennial Commission, and ,Society staff members have engaged in a great deal of activity related to the work of the Commission. In addition to carrying on our regular activities in an expanded form, we embarked on a number of major new activities during the year: an educational program, a travelling museum, and a series of television programs. With the appointment, last September, of Mrs. Phyllis Winkelman as Director of Education, the Society for the :first time was in a position to provide educational service commensurate with its rich resources in the history of Nebraska. The educational program has included pro­ motional activities, educational activities within the build­ ing, and educational activities outside the building. Within the building the educational program has emphasized mu­ seum visits as a part of the regular program for classes in history. To encourage the use of the museum by school groups, approximately 9,500 brochures, describing the pro­ gram and providing space for reservations, were sent to school officials and leaders of other groups in Nebraska. The educational program was greatly assisted by the Lin­ coln Junior League which provided volunteer guides each weekday afternoon. In addition, League workers assisted the museum staff in pottery restoration, cataloging, and display work. The Junior League volunteer program has HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF 1954 307 been successful so far as both the Society and the League are concerned. Last year we had seven volunteer workers. This year we expect to have seventeen. A total of 419 different groups were given guided tours through the build­ ing during the past year. In addition to the guided tours, the educational pro­ gram in the building has emphasized the use of the audi­ torium in co-ordination with the galleries. The major aspect of this activity was a series of ten programs, August 31-September 4, for children who completed the Lincoln City Library's summer reading program. The read­ ing program used the centennial as the central theme, and each child was required to read at least two books on N e­ braska. The auditorium programs included a film on N e­ braska and the singing of Nebraska songs. Approximately eight hundred children attended. Further activities in the building included a program of museum aide training conducted in co-operation with the Girl Scouts of Lincoln. Twelve Girl Scouts participated in the program, which included five training sessions fol­ lowed by thirty hours of service to the Society by each Scout. Those who completed the program earned the Girl Scout museum aide bar. Educational activities outside the building included the taking of historical programs by staff members and Junior League volunteers to hospitals and other institu­ tions and the preparation and distribution of educational materials. The Director of Education answered approxi­ mately 175 letters asking for specific information about Nebraska and distributed approximately ten thousand edu­ cational leaflets and other materials. Scripts of centennial programs produced by the ,South Sioux City High School were reproduced and distributed by the Society to approxi­ mately two hundred schools and organizations in the state. The Director of Education supervised the preparation and distribution of the Centennial Handbook, published by the Territorial Centennial Commission to assist local communi­ ties and groups in the commemoration of the centennial. A major continuing project has been the writing of a series of scripts being produced by the Radio and Tele- 308 NEBRASKA HISTORY VIs1on Section, University of Nebraska Department of Speech, and tape~recorded by the University's Bureau of Audio-Visual Instruction. These programs, thirteen in number, present the territorial period in dramatic form. They are to be released October 15th. The master tapes will be kept in the "Tapes for Teaching" Library at the University's Bureau of Audio-Visual Instruction, and radio stations, schools, or other organizations may have the series transferred to their own tapes by payment of a nominal fee to cover the cost of handling. Also in prepara­ tion are scripts for a series of tapes on Nebraska folk songs to be produced by the University Department of Music and to be available from the Bureau of Audio-Visual Instruction. A second major project, in addition to the educational program, has been the preparation and operation of a travelling museum for the Territorial Centennial Commis­ sion, a museum very generously provided by the railroads serving Nebraska: Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy; Chicago and North Western; Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific; Missouri Pacific; and Union Pacific. The railroads modi­ fied the Union Pacific's exhibition car into a travelling museum, at a cost of approximately $9,600, and have trans­ ported it into all parts of the state since June lOth, when it was formally launched by Governor Robert Crosby, President Lawrence, and officials of the railroads and Territorial Centennial Commission. This travelling mu­ seum, known as "The Centennial Car," has met with a highly enthusiastic response everywhere it has gone. When the car went out of operation September 23rd, a total of 104,290 Nebraskans had visited it. The Centennial Car was on exhibit at the Nebraska State Fair, and during that period a total of 34,453 went through it. The success of the Centennial Car has prompted us to hope that it might be possible to establish a mobile museum as a regular part of the Society's program, thus making it possible to carry the Nebraska story to thousands who would not have an opportunity to visit the building in Lincoln. A third major project has been the production, in co-operation with University of Nebraska Television, the HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF 1954 309 University of Nebraska State Museum, and the Educa­ tional Television and Radio Center, of a series of thirty­ nine half-hour television programs under the general title, "The Great Plains Trilogy." The series, telecast over KOLN-TV, has been filmed for national distribution through a grant of $9,000 from the National Association of Educa­ tional Broadcasters. This series, representing an effort to interpret the land and the history of the Plains through the medium of television, has drawn nationwide attention. In addition, we have carried forward and expanded our regular activities. The annual spring meeting, held in Falls City, May 9th, was a joint meeting with the Kansas State Historical Society to commemorate the centennial of the organization of the Nebraska and Kansas terri­ tories. The large group from both states assembled at Falls City heard papers from Dr. Roy F. Nichols, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and ,Sciences at the Uni­ versity of Pennsylvania; and Dr.